(Image source: X.com)
[Saba Sports News] Shoaib Malik, after Pakistan’s recent loss in the World Cup 2023, admitted that captaincy is not Babar Azam’s cup of tea, and he should step down from the leadership position for the betterment of the team.
Pakistan lost to India on Saturday in an extremely one-sided contest in which the Men in Blue defeated the side led by Babar Azam by seven wickets. The below-par batting performance of the Pakistan team emerged as the main culprit for the denting loss. Babar was the top-scorer from his side, scoring 50 runs off 58 balls.
Pakistan were bowled out for a mere score of 191 in 42.5 overs, and in the second innings, India came out all guns blazing and chased down the target in just 30.3 overs. India captain and opener Rohit Sharma demolished the Pakistan bowling, scoring 86 runs off 63 balls.
“Look, I will give you my honest opinion on this. I have already said this in previous interviews that Babar should leave captaincy, it is just my opinion but there’s a lot of homework behind it,” Malik said.
“Babar, as a player, can do wonders for himself as well as the team. It is my personal opinion and that is not because we lost the game today [against India] or we lost by a big margin, no it [my opinion] is not built on that,” he added.
Furthermore, Malik added that Babar looks very predictable and devoid of out-of-box ideas on the field.
“I think that Babar, as a leader, doesn’t think out-of-the-box. One shouldn’t mix his leadership with his batting skills as they both are different. He has been a captain for a long time now, but he hasn’t been able to improve himself,” he concluded.
Pakistan are currently on the fourth spot on the points table with two wins and one loss. The Men in Green now have some rest days as their next match is scheduled against the Australia at Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium on 20th October.